Dearest Friend
by public static void
Summary: In the blink of an eye, the red chakra came. In the blink of an eye, Sasuke was dead.


"I promised Sakura I would bring you back!" Naruto yelled, grinning with determination. He could see how Sasuke, in that diabolical-looking appearance, softened at the mention of their teammate. That was quickly erased by the sudden anger that could almost be felt through the space between them.

"Sakura is weak, and I won't let her drag me down to your level. If I have to kill you, then be it, but you won't stop me! And if I have to kill her too, then I will gladly do it to achieve my goal."

Even though Sasuke looked different than usual, something in the way he spoke told Naruto that those feelings of hate and loathing had always been there. Sasuke spoke with such confidence and such wrath, that Naruto believed those words. He wanted to stop Sasuke's voice from replaying inside his mind, but he couldn't. Soon, another voice joined Sasuke's, and if there was anger in his friend, it was not like the new voice.

 _He will kill you if you don't let me help you. He will kill that weak girl after he kills you. You have to let me help you._

Naruto didn't want to but, even if he had beat Neji a few weeks ago, he knew Sasuke was still stronger than him. He closed his eyes and pictured the monster living within him. He tried to say no to his power, to bargain for _just enough to beat Sasuke_.

It felt real when Naruto put a virtual hand through the barrier that stopped the monster, and when he next opened his eyes there was a definitely real sensation of elation and triumph.

Naruto was in mid-air, his legs hurt as if the chakra on them had ceased to flow. Everything was normal not a second later, but then he saw Sasuke jump in front of him.

His friend had blue, hot chakra on his hand, shaped like a small spear, and it was headed towards Naruto's heart. He reacted, suddenly and not in total control. A Rasengan began to form on his hand, red chakra spinning wildly but controlled. He almost bragged about finally getting it right with only one hand.

"I'll kill you," came the voice from Naruto's mouth, but it was deeper than usual and not at all _his_. His throat hurt as if it were on fire, and Naruto swallowed. He shook his head and looked forward just in time to see Sasuke's fearful eyes.

The collision came, and Naruto smirked in victory. He defeated Sasuke!

He saw his friend smile before his face contorted in pain. Naruto's eyes widened.

The chakra on his hand hadn't stopped spinning, but the tomoes on Sasuke's eyes had. Naruto was left watching as the blood red faded to a lackluster black, devoid of life. Time had stopped, and so had Sasuke's breathing. Both of them fell to the ground, Sasuke without control. His body hit the ground with an echoing thud, and the seconds continued ticking.

Naruto was breathless, his ribs ached and his vision was slowly turning into a blur of black and gray shadows dancing over his eyes. As quickly as he could, he painfully crawled towards Sasuke.

"Sasuke?" he asked, wide-eyed and confused. "Can you hear me?"

Sasuke didn't answer, and Naruto fought the need to scream until his throat hurt as much as his heart seemed to do. Over the sounds of the rushing water and the occasional bird flying by, Naruto could hear his blood pumping, keeping him alive and driving him mad.

His chest hurt, but when he looked down expecting to see himself pierced by the lightning chakra of Sasuke's Chidori, he found nothing but unmarred skin. Sasuke had pulled the technique to stop himself from hurting Naruto, and he repaid his dearest friend by hitting his chest with a Rasengan.

It had only been a weak Rasengan! Sasuke couldn't die just like that, not after everything they went through! Sasuke couldn't die after finally recognizing Naruto as his equal.

"Damn you, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, hitting the ground at the side of Sasuke's untouched face. He appeared to be at ease, but the small rictus of pain on his lips told Naruto another story. Sasuke had felt the pain of his death, even if he had been right: there was not even a scratch on his forehead protector. But his chest was another thing altogether.

Where the Rasengan had struck, there was torn flesh threatening to make Naruto vomit. What was left of Sasuke's ribs was exposed, and Naruto could see his heart had a chunk missing, disintegrated by the fatal attack.

He stayed still, his right hand lightly brushing Sasuke's. His skin was warm, and there was a tingling sensation in Naruto's hand. His other hand was clutching his own torn jacket, grounding himself and trying to get a hold of the situation. _H_ _e had just killed Sasuke_.

"Wake up, bastard," Naruto said in a whisper. There were tears in his eyes, but he refused to let them go. If he cried, then there was no going back. Crying meant accepting Sasuke was gone and all by his hand.

Naruto closed his eyes, and as soon as he did he opened them again. He didn't want to stop seeing Sasuke, to stop believing it would be alright. Seeing his friend didn't make it better.

"I betrayed you, Sasuke," Naruto confessed, not deviating his eyes from Sasuke's. If he focused, Naruto could pretend Sasuke was listening. He could pretend Sasuke was alive. "I promised to bring you back, I promised to stop you from leaving the village. I failed, and you left. You left _me_..."

Rain began to fall, and Naruto did the only logical thing: he curled beside Sasuke and covered his friend with the ripped jacket. The falling rain was cold, so Naruto embraced Sasuke, pulling the cooling body towards him to keep its warmth.

He didn't know how much time passed, but he was openly crying when a hand uncovered Sasuke. Nothing but the rain moved for a second, and then Naruto felt Kakashi's arms enveloping him in an awkward half-hug, half-restraining embrace.

"I killed him, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto cried into Kakashi's jacket, hitting his chest with closed hands. "The bastard didn't want to come back and I vowed I would bring him home. I failed. I killed my friend."

Kakashi said nothing. Naruto thought it was for the best. After all, what could Kakashi say? He had never lost his friends like this. He was a perfect shinobi who never cracked under pressure. He wasn't a monster that could kill his precious people in the blink of an eye. But most of all, what could Kakashi say to bring Sasuke back?

* * *

Mint-green and gray walls welcomed him. Naruto sat up a little dizzy. He remembered everything that had happened as if he were reliving it at that moment.

The sight of Sasuke losing his smile and his eyes turning from red to black to _lifeless_ haunted Naruto's mind. Sasuke was dead because of him.

"Naruto?" a small voice came from the door. "Are you alright?"

He turned to the other side, losing himself in the world beyond the hospital window. Konoha looked the same, and there was no trace of rain.

"Please, Naruto."

His body began shaking, he couldn't know if it was in anger, or shame, or a mix of both. The only thing that was clear was Sasuke's death and Naruto's fault.

"You failed, Naruto," said the now angry voice. "You failed at keeping your promise, and that is _not_ your ninja way."

That made Naruto face her. He had always loved to see her, but not like that.

Sakura's hastily cut hair was disheveled, her face puffy and her eyes red. That didn't bother Naruto as much as the blank look in her eyes and the multiple little red marks on her forearms that looked like she had pinched herself too many times.

"I'm sorry," was all he could say before breaking down and crying again.

His sobs became more controlled at the same time that Sakura's pitiful cries became louder. Naruto couldn't stand it. He got up from the stiff bed and painfully walked towards Sakura in time to catch her as she forcefully kneeled. She held on to Naruto as if there was no one else in the world, and Naruto supposed that was too close to the truth.

"I tried, Sakura," he cried into her shoulder. "I really did."

She became stiff in his arms. Her nails, long nails, dug into his arm, but not as harshly as they did on Sakura's own skin. It hurt Naruto to know his teammate and friend ached for Sasuke just as strongly as he did.

"Kakashi told me everything about the seal and how it affected his mind," Sakura said between sobs, lifting her face to finally see Naruto's eyes. "Naruto..."

He couldn't know what happened inside Sakura's mind in those few seconds, but she promptly kissed his cheek and clung to his neck again.

"You are more than I deserve, Naruto," she told him, still crying but already calming down. "You were the only friend I had and never realized until now. You didn't fail, I didn't mean it earlier. You brought him back, though he didn't want to. You prevented him from becoming a rogue ninja like his brother. I bet you my life that counts more for Sasuke than anything else."

He was honestly shocked by her words, having thought she would scorn him. This Sakura was different from the one who was put with him into the same three-man team. This Sakura was willing to forgive him when he couldn't forgive himself.

"He was my friend, Sakura. I killed my friend."

She didn't answer. Her usually vibrant eyes were almost as dead as Sasuke's.

"I am your friend too, idiot," she laughed while crying. "And Kakashi. And Teams Eight and Ten. And the Hokage, and Jiraiya. You protected the village at the cost of Sasuke's life. He was a traitor."

He could tell the words tasted bitter in her mouth and could not be grateful for them. He had many friends when once he thought he would never have them, but Sasuke was different.

 _He was more like me than anyone else. He was_ my _friend_ , Naruto thought. _I killed a part of myself._

* * *

 **AN:** Aaaaand that's it. This was Vivifae's idea, and I really hope they like it.


End file.
